Fastest Sinking Coastal Cities
Source: Planet Anomaly
Insights
The visualization showcases the world's fastest-sinking coastal cities, with peak and median velocities relative to sea-level rise. The data is for the period between 2014 and 2020, and was collected using satellite-based radar.
The fastest-sinking coastal city in the world is Tianjin, China and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a peak velocity of over 43mm per year. This means that parts of the city are sinking by almost 2 inches per year!
Other cities with high peak velocities include Chittagong, Bangladesh (37mm per year), and Yangon, Myanmar (31mm per year).
There are two main causes of subsidence:
Over-extraction of groundwater: When groundwater is extracted, the weight of the overlying soil and rock can cause the ground to compact. This is a major problem in many coastal cities, where groundwater is often used for drinking water, irrigation, and industrial purposes.
Rapid urbanization: The weight of buildings and other infrastructure can also cause the ground to compact. This is a problem in many rapidly growing coastal cities.